Highlights for the week of Dec. 1

The Awesomes arrive

If you’ve been watching “Chuck” at all this season — and seriously, you should — then you’ve been eagerly anticipating meeting The Awesomes, Chuck’s brother-in-law’s parents. I won’t give away who plays them, but considering “Chuck’s” endless ’80s references, expect “Scarecrow and Mrs. King,” “Tron” and primetime soap jokes.

Tis the season

Get in the holiday spirit with the cartoon classic, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” and something the kids might call “a classic,” “Shrek the Halls.” Both ho-ho-hold court Monday on ABC. And if you prefer Jim Carrey’s Grinch, head to Whoville Friday when ABC airs the live-action version. Already holidayed out? Avoid the crowds at Rockefeller Center and watch the tree lighting Wednesday night on NBC — or watch their clip show of top holiday moments Friday night.

History of ‘Sex’

History Channel’s “The Universe” proved in its first two seasons that the cosmos don’t have to be a boring physics lesson. But apparently word didn’t get out that this was actually a fun, interesting series, because this season “The Universe” gets racy — check out Tuesday’s episode, “The Universe: Sex in Space.” Elvis and Elton

A couple of made-for-TV movies this weekend. Saturday, there’s Sci Fi’s “Cyclops.” The Sci Fi original movies are kind of like “Lifetime” movies for geeks, but with production qualities that could rival a high-school pageant, which actually makes the movies more fun. Expect the campy fun of “Mother, May I Sleep with Danger?” except instead of Tori Spelling, you get a Cyclops. If you’ve been a fan of the Noah Wyle movie series “The Librarian,” you can catch the third installment Sunday on TNT.

Saddam’s story

HBO premieres the miniseries “House of Saddam” on Sunday. Is it just me, or does it feel like it’s too soon for a “Saddam: Behind the Dictator”?